30/05/2012

The updates just keep on coming and this is a big one. Dayz is moving into Beta.

At the moment there aren't many servers running 1.7, but I expect this will change shortly. I whole heartily endorse installing the update. While I have not investigated any gameplay changes, I can say it has eliminated the epic wait times to join a game.

Installing it was not exactly straightforward, but since I am literally the most generous person alive you can learn from my hard(ish) work. As a disclaimer this is for the Steam version of the game.

Installing Dayz
Download the Dayz 1.7 code from here and install it as usual.

Preparing Arma2
You will need to install the beta patch for Arma2. This, generally speaking, has the added bonus of boosting your fps in game.

Once you have finished getting the patch installed you will need to tinker with the file. Follow the instructions in the third post in this thread. By default it will start in windowed mode. Just hit alt-enter when it starts or remove " -window " from the file.

27/05/2012

If you`re spending Sunday battling the undead hordes/still living hordes of Chernarus, a new version of Dayz has been released. You can now play as a lady-survivor! This is a one time decision, so choose wisely. The update also introduces a hatchet. Unfortunately, it is not for chopping up zombies like some deranged viking warrior, but for gathering firewood. Oh well.

24/05/2012

If you told me that a mod would catapult Arma2 to the top of the Steam charts, attract attention from the mainstream games media and have over a hundred thousand players I would have called you crazy. Well who is crazy now? ...It's still you.

The mod has grown along with the player base, adding new mechanics, quashing bugs, and slowly refining the experience. This sadly has rendered my first survival guide woefully inadequate for helping green survivors and grizzled vets alike come to grips with the the world of Dayz. I'm fixin' on rectifying that here.

Without further ado here is...The Desolate Shroud's Guide to Dayz - Part 2

17/05/2012

After a decade of waiting Diablo 3 has been released. I've been playing it and I am here to deliver some initial impressions.

As with most Blizzard games it has taken an awfully long time to get here, and, to be frank, I didn't know a whole lot about it starting the game for the first time. I was not in the beta, nor did I read many previews. This is not to say I'm not a fan of the series. I've loved Diablo since being shown the first one at a friend's house in Grade 7 and have played both for years. But, Diablo 3 marks the first time in a while that I was going to be playing a highly anticipated game with almost zero knowledge of it prior to starting. How exciting.

16/05/2012

The sun had dipped below the horizon casting a faint glow over the treetops in the hills surrounding Novy Sobor. Darkness had already descended on the town as I crept through the vacant buildings and streets in search of water. I didn't have any backup, but this didn't seem to be a problem since the town was devoid of zombies. It was pitch black by the time I entered a two story building in the centre of the village. My desperation for a drink and the lack of zombies made me less cautious than normal. I walked down the hallway in search of supplies, my footsteps echoing out the door at the far end. Ducking into a room to my right, I was about to rummage through a pile of cans laying on the floor when I heard the unmistakeable sound of flies out the window. I dropped to the floor and listened - footsteps in the hallway. There was someone moving towards me. The footsteps grew louder until he stopped just inside doorway. In the pitch black I could barely see the outline of another survivor, gun at the ready. Laying off to the side of the room he never saw me. I pointed my Winchester at his chest and fired. The muzzle flash briefly illuminated his face - concealed with a smock - before he fell to the floor. On my way out of the room I put another round into him to be sure. In my haste to get out of the area it didn't occur to me that he might not be alone like me. I ran into his friends outside of the building. I didn't see them until they fired.

08/05/2012

Unsurprisingly, the zombie apocalypse presents some challenges when it comes to remaining alive. Having played with mixed results for the past week, I wanted to pass on some sagely advice gleaned from my
experiences.

06/05/2012

There was someone in front of me. I crept through a small
village devoid of life. Zombies should have been patrolling the streets and
surrounding countryside. The houses were barren. The only items I came across were empty cans of food,
empty water bottles, and empty magazines. The dead zombies scattered throughout
the town and barren houses meant someone else had likely already passed
through. I was following in his wake. I crouched out of sight behind a shed to
check my map. I needed to figure out where to go next.

A large settlement lay 2 kilometers to the northeast -
Zelenogorsk. Hopefully I could find some food, water, and most importantly,
ammunition there. My unseen companion had
likely already been, I just hoped there would be something left over
for me.

I checked one more house on the outskirts of town before
heading north. Luckily this one had not been ransacked yet. I retrieved a new
pistol and scoped hunting rifle. Feeling more confident I started across the
field.

Not two minutes outside of town I saw some movement in the adjacent
field, about half a kilometer away. It was him, the man I had been following.
Had he seen me? I clumsily removed the hunting rifle from my back, peering
through the scope to try and get a glimpse of him. He was moving north-east at a jog, the smock wrapped around his face told me immediately he was a
bandit. I dropped to the ground and brought my rifle up, poised to fire. He had
disappeared. I frantically scanned the field to try and catch sight of him, but it
was too late. By the time my scope passed over him laying prone in the field,
he had already lined up his shot. The last thing I saw was a puff of smoke
rising from his barrel. The crack of the shot came a few seconds later.